In case you missed it, Steven Pearl, the son of former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl and a weekend host for TSR, read an ad for a Knoxville barbecue chain thought up by the TSR team that alluded to Craft’s attendance at a 2010 barbecue thrown by then-coach Pearl that had Craft, a star recruit at the time, as a guest. After photo evidence of the shindig surfaced, Pearl lied about hosting Craft, and it ultimately led to his undoing as coach.

In the commercial, the younger Pearl, a former Vol himself, says, "If there’s one thing we Pearls know, it’s how to throw a barbecue.” Later, he mentions two rules for the perfect barbecue party, with the clincher being: "Absolutely no photography."

No harm in any of that until the disclaimer voice at the end says, "Offer not available to Aaron Craft."

NCAA rules stipulate that a student-athlete’s name or likeness not be used for commercial ventures like this ad. And it was something that the Buckeyes’ compliance department did not take lightly. The school is so hypersensitive to compliance issues following the tattoo parlor scandal that saw Jim Tressel resign as Buckeyes football coach that it now sports an annual compliance budget of $1.1 million, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

"We are aware of the situation you reference involving Ohio State student-athlete Aaron Craft,” said Doug Archie, Ohio State’s Associate Athletic Director for Compliance. “We have taken the necessary steps with all parties involved to alleviate any potential NCAA issues. Aaron Craft's eligibility was never in danger. He had no knowledge nor provided consent."

Jason Bailey, the owner of Tennessee Sports Radio, said his team created the idea and presented the ad copy to Pearl, who found the humor in it and agreed to do it.

"It was just meant to be a little funny thing for the people in Knoxville, and it was, but we didn't know at the time when we did that that it would be a violation," Bailey told Sporting News. "We sure don't want to hurt the kid's eligibility or anything like that. That'd be terrible. We're not out to hurt anyone, we're just here to have some fun."

Saving the ad was not a problem, since Craft's name surfaced only at the end of the 1-minute spot. The ad isn’t as good without his name, but those in the know still will get and enjoy the allusion.